Fully buffered DIMMs have an advanced memory buffer between the memory modules and controller, allowing for increased memory without more pins. Benefits include signal restoration and error checking, but drawbacks include increased power consumption and latency. Cooling is recommended to prevent damage.
A fully buffered dual in-line memory module (DIMM) is a random access memory (RAM) chip that contains an advanced memory buffer on the chipset. The advanced memory buffer acts as an intermediary between the actual memory modules and the memory controller. This allows you to increase the memory available on the chip without increasing the number of pins on the module. Disadvantages of DIMMs include introducing latency and increased power consumption for the chipset.
On a fully buffered DIMM, the enhanced memory buffer sits right between the memory modules and the memory controller. All data moving to and from the memory modules must first pass through the advanced memory buffer unit. Unlike unbuffered DIMMs, where the memory controller interfaces directly with the memory module, information about the fully buffered DIMM must be “interpreted” by the advanced memory buffer.
Using a fully buffered DIMM provides two main benefits. The first is that the signal can be restored by the memory buffer unit, compensating for the deterioration as it travels through the computer bus architecture. The second is that the advanced memory buffer can perform preemptive error checking on the data flowing to and from the RAM chip. It acts like a kind of miniature brain that can tell if the data it passes has been corrupted at any point in the process.
However, there are also disadvantages to using a fully buffered DIMM. The first of these is that the advanced memory buffer requires additional power consumption for the RAM chip. This means that the RAM socket must be set to a higher voltage level. The increase in power produces extra heat, which can shorten the life of RAM chips – and other components within the system – in poor ventilation conditions. To minimize this risk, additional cooling should be used; this may include additional case exhaust fans or another type of cooling solution to improve airflow through the RAM chips.
The final disadvantage of DIMMs is that relying on advanced memory buffering introduces the concept of latency into RAM operations. Without a buffer, RAM operations occur essentially in real time, limited only by the speed of the processor, the front side bus between the processor and memory, and the speed of the RAM chips themselves. However, once data is funneled through the advanced memory buffer, there is a delay between receiving and processing the information. The only possible compensation for this is to use faster memory modules, to overcome the inherent latency lag.
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